


Reversal

by Soulstoned



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Beta Otabek Altin, Cesarean Section, Domestic Fluff, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Minor Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov, Morning Sickness, Mpreg, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Omega Victor Nikiforov, Omega Yuri Plisetsky, Pregnant Otabek, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-01
Updated: 2020-05-01
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:28:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23746852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Soulstoned/pseuds/Soulstoned
Summary: After a pregnancy scare has Yuri declaring that he doesn't even want to think about getting pregnant until after he retires, Otabek can't help but feel disappointed. He spent just enough time thinking Yuri might be pregnant to get excited about the idea, and now retirement seems so far away. He finds himself wishing he could carry their baby instead.Baby fever is the colloquial name for a rare condition where a beta begins to take on some omega traits, in rare cases even leading to conception. Otabek isn't sure he even believes it's real, he certainly never expected it to happen to him.
Relationships: Otabek Altin/Yuri Plisetsky
Comments: 22
Kudos: 153
Collections: Unusual_Bearings_2020





	Reversal

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Annie_lostintheforest](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Annie_lostintheforest/gifts).



> The "Choose Not to Warn" tag is because there are mentions of sex when Yuri was still underage. Nothing happens "on screen" that would require an archive warning.

“It wouldn’t have to be all bad,” Otabek says as he sets the timer on his phone. 

“You know I can’t take a season off now,” Yuri replies as he nervously glances down at the stick in his hand.

A broken condom during Yuri’s last heat is what brought them here, sitting on the edge of Otabek’s bed in his hotel room waiting on the results of a pregnancy test instead of going out to celebrate with everyone else. Not that Yuri feels much like celebrating after receiving the lowest score of his professional career due to his inability to focus on anything but this.

“We can get through it. It would take more than one season off to hold you back, and I know you would go back to outskating everyone else as soon as you recover,” Otabek says.

“It’s just really bad timing. I’m not sure how my sponsors would handle the press involved with an unmarried teenage omega dropping out of the season to have a baby. I might not get them back,” Yuri says, hugging his knees to his chest.

“I would marry you in a heartbeat you know,” Otabek says quietly as he wraps his arms around Yuri to pull him into a tight hug. “We're in this together.”

The timer goes off and Yuri takes a deep breath and flips the pregnancy test over. One line. Not pregnant. He breathes a sigh of relief and flops back onto the bed.

“I don’t even want to think about that again until I retire. As soon as we get back to Russia I’m getting a birth control implant put in. I think that broken condom took years off my life,” Yuri says, finally relaxing for the first time in the weeks since his last heat. 

Otabek tries not to look disappointed at that. It isn’t exactly that he wants a baby right away, that would be insane, but retirement is really far away. He spent just enough time worrying that Yuri might be pregnant to start to like the idea of having a child together. Retirement is at least ten years away, maybe closer to fifteen. For the first time in his life he regrets being a beta. He would carry their child himself if he could.

Yuri goes over the last few minutes in his head, finally catching up to what Otabek said right before the timer went off. He quickly sits back up, looking at him wide eyed. “You said you would marry me. Is that only because you thought I was pregnant, or do you really want to do it?” 

“I already wanted to marry you someday, a baby would just be an excuse to do it soon,” Otabek says.

“Who says we need an excuse? I’ll be eighteen in a few months, after my birthday nobody can stop us," Yuri says, eyes lighting up with excitement. 

"It's a plan, we'll get married on your birthday," Otabek says, smiling from ear to ear as he pulls Yuri into a kiss. 

\---------------- ** _Six Months Later_** \----------------

Sneaking away was an ordeal. Yuri snuck out of Yakov and Lilia’s house early in the morning with nothing indicating that he was leaving other than a note on the fridge asking them to feed Potya. He didn't tell anyone about their plans to get married because he didn't want anyone to try to talk him out of it. _"Too late now,"_ Yuri thinks to himself smugly as he looks down at his wedding ring. He was worried they wouldn't make it on time after Otabek was hit by an unexpected bout of car sickness but after a quick stop at a store to buy something to settle his stomach and a short nap in the passenger seat as Yuri drove, they were able to make it to the wedding hall near the registration office in record time despite the setback.

A part of him can't believe they got away with it. Back home there's a birthday party he won't be attending, and all of his things are packed up in his room ready to move into Otabek's small apartment near the rink. 

Yakov is definitely going to yell at him.

It's barely been official for an hour when they make it back to their hotel room, eager to take each other apart for the first time as husbands. Their phones are tossed aside and set to silent. People are sure to start looking for them soon and they don’t want to be interrupted. 

Yuri grabs Otabek by the hand and guides him toward the bed, laying him down slowly and gently like a reversal of their first time two years ago. More than anything else what he remembers from that time is how loved and cherished he felt. The morning after was bittersweet when Otabek held him until it was time to return to Kazakhstan. This time he can’t help but smile to himself as he remembers they’ll be going home together. Otabek looks up at him, smiling like he has just had the same thought before pulling him down for a kiss. 

They spend the night like that, tangled together in the sheets, not wanting to be separated even for a moment. 

When Yuri wakes up the next morning, it’s to an empty bed and the sound of Otabek heaving up last night’s dinner. When Yuri enters the bathroom he finds Otabek sitting on the cool tile floor, leaning against the wall with his eyes closed. “I don’t think that was the car,” Otabek says without opening his eyes.

Yuri brushes Otabek’s hair out of his face and rests his hand on his forehead. “It doesn’t feel like you have a fever, could it be something you ate?” he asks. 

“I don’t think so, we ate the same thing. Unless you’re feeling sick too,” Otabek says as he slowly pulls himself up off the floor.

“No, I’m fine,” Yuri says.

Otabek fights back a gag as he brushes his teeth before shuffling off to bed. “I’m sorry, this probably isn’t how you imagined our honeymoon,” he says as he lays back down.

“Don’t worry about that, just try to feel better,” Yuri says as he tucks the blankets around him and reaches for his phone to check his missed messages. He cringes when he sees just how many people tried to contact him yesterday, the messages start out annoyed before switching over to worried after going hours without a response. He deletes them all and snaps a selfie. Otabek can be seen dozing off in the background. He posts it to instagram with the caption that he’s still alive and to leave him alone, he’ll be home in a few days.

The messages don’t stop but they do slow down after that, the ones that remain taking on a tone that‘s closer to anger or disappointment depending on who they’re from. Yakov can get over it, he’s only missing one practice between his birthday and the upcoming weekend. World’s is still nearly a month away and there are no other competitions coming up that he or Otabek are supposed to be a part of.

Over the next few days Otabek continues to feel sick. Every time he thinks he has finally gotten over it, the nausea comes back with a vengeance the next morning and he’s back at square one. The day they finally go home he spends the entire car ride in the passenger’s seat with a bucket in his lap just in case. 

They pull up in front of Yakov and Lilia’s house where Yuri has been staying for the past couple years to retrieve the boxes that are packed up in his room. They're relieved to see that nobody else is home. Yuri gathers up Potya and a few boxes of clothes, deciding to leave the rest for later so he can get Otabek home. 

From there the drive to their apartment is a short one. Otabek rented a one bedroom apartment near the rink when he moved to Russia a year ago. Yuri has already spent enough time there for it to feel like home, now it’s just official.

“I think I might be over it for real this time,” Otabek says as he carries in the last of the boxes.

“You said that yesterday,” Yuri says.

“Yeah, but this time I mean it. I feel fine,” Otabek says.

Yuri looks at him, unsure. “If you say so.”

“I’m just glad you haven’t caught whatever that was, it isn’t like you’ve kept your distance.”

“How could I keep my distance from you? If I catch it I catch it.” Yuri says, curling his arm around Otabek’s waist and pulling him in for a kiss.

“I never knew you to be so sappy,” Otabek says as they pull apart.

“Well don’t tell anybody, I have an image to maintain,” Yuri says with a grin. 

Practice the next morning is far too early. They have a quick breakfast and head to the rink hand in hand, rings glinting in the morning light. Now that they’re actually married and nobody can try to talk them out of it, there’s no reason to keep it secret.

Georgi is the first to approach them. After his retirement last year he has been assisting Yakov with coaching, preparing to take over for him at some point in the next few years. “Where have you been? You skipped practice and wouldn’t answer your phone, we had a birthday party set up for you,” he says with a scowl.

Yuri holds up his hand to flash his ring. “We got married, I was on my honeymoon,” he says, trying to keep the annoyance out of his tone from being questioned this early in the morning.

Several expressions cross Georgi’s face before settling on what can only be described as ‘cringing concern.’ “Yuri, you’re eighteen. Are you _pregnant_?” he asks.

“What!? No!” Yuri responds, tossing his jacket aside so he can roll up his sleeve and point to the small scar where his birth control was implanted. 

Otabek just shakes his head as he wraps his arm around Yuri’s shoulder to calm him down. By this point a crowd has formed of other skaters offering their confused congratulations. 

After that brief hiccup, practice starts smoothly, unfortunately it doesn’t continue that way. After a few too many spins and loops Otabek begins to feel the all too familiar sensation of his breakfast trying to come back up. He makes it to the edge of the rink just in time to lean over the railing before he vomits. 

Yuri skates over to the railing. “So much for being over it,” he says as he follows him off the ice. 

Yakov just shakes his head. “Go to the doctor, don’t throw up in my rink again.”

Otabek nods and begins to change out of his skates to leave. As Yuri starts to do the same, Yakov stops him. “Not you, you still have a lot of work to do before World's and you missed your last practice. Unless you’re sick too you’re staying here.”

Yuri grumbles as he starts to re-tie his skate. “I’ll be fine,” Otabek says as he gathers his things. “I’ll see you this afternoon once practice is over.”

Yuri reluctantly heads back onto the ice still grumbling to himself as Otabek leaves the rink. The cool air outside offers Otabek some relief as he heads to the doctor’s office down the block. Dr. Ivanov does most of the physicals for the local skaters and can usually work one of them in right away if they say that Yakov sent them.

It doesn’t take long for Otabek to be ushered back into the exam room. He describes his symptoms and the intermittent nature of them to the doctor who orders blood and urine samples. After a while the doctor returns with a print out of the results from his urine test, explaining that the blood test will take longer.

“I had a suspicion, but I wanted to be sure before I brought it up because it’s so rare,” the doctor says, looking down at the paper and highlighting one of the results before handing the paper to Otabek.

Otabek looks down at the paper in his hands and at the highlighted result. Usually he thinks his russian is very good but his translation must be off here. If he didn’t know better he would think the test results say he’s pregnant. 

“What does it say?” he asks, trying to keep his face blank through his shock.

“You’re pregnant. It’s hard to say how long without a last heat to count from, but you’re almost certainly still in your first trimester. You’ll need an ultrasound for a better estimate,” the doctor says.

“But how? I’m a beta,” Otabek asks, feeling an odd mix of terror and ...hope? This is what he wanted, right? Secretly because he would never push Yuri to do anything he isn’t ready for, but if he can do it himself…

“Have you ever heard of baby fever?” the doctor asks.

“I thought that was a myth, there have been times when not everyone wanted to be open about being an omega, so baby fever was made up to explain how those secret omegas got pregnant.”

“That’s an old theory without much basis,” the doctor says. “Early in the development of our species, betas existed to fill whichever niche was needed. If there was a shortage of alphas or omegas in a given population, the betas of the group would begin to take on some of the traits that were missing. It’s one of the reasons we as a species were able to get through some of the major population crashes. Over the years we've mostly lost the ability, but it still crops up from time to time. There are a few verified cases worldwide each year."

"But I've never had a heat, I would notice if I did. I always notice when Yuri is about to go into heat," Otabek protests.

"Micro-heats are comparatively mild and usually only last a couple hours, they can happen with or without ovulation. If there's ever been a time when you just couldn't wait to get your boyfriend into bed, it may have been a micro-heat." the doctor says.

"We're married now, but I don't need to be in heat to want to make love to someone as beautiful as my husband," Otabek says, slightly taken aback at the notion that he might have been experiencing any type of heat without realizing right away.

"It can be subtle, especially if you're already in a serious relationship."

Otabek leans back in the chair, overwhelmed by the feelings that are coursing through him. Fear, confusion, curiosity, but most of all joy. He knows it isn't reasonable. He's twenty years old, Yuri is barely eighteen and they've been married for less than a week. Even as he tries to think it through logically, moving to a larger apartment, interrupting his career, explaining all of this to Yuri later, sleepless nights with a newborn… Even through all those worries the feeling that surfaces above the others is excitement. He wants this baby.

"When will I have to stop skating?" he asks. 

"The regulations allow skaters to continue competing through their first trimester with a doctor's approval. I don't see any reason for you not to go to the world championships this year, but after that it'll probably be time to take a break until you've recovered from the birth. I'm going to refer you to an obstetrician for your prenatal care. In the meantime, you should start taking a prenatal vitamin, you should be able to find them in any pharmacy," the doctor says as he stands up to leave. 

Otabek feels like he is moving through a fog as he walks home, stopping at the pharmacy on his way home to buy the vitamins his doctor ordered before continuing the walk to his apartment. Once he makes it inside he sits down on his couch to think. He leaves the print out of his results and bottle of vitamins on the coffee table as he sits and wonders how he's going to tell Yuri. 

Will Yuri even want this? Before he made it seem like his objection was more with pregnancy than parenthood, but Otabek can't be completely sure about that. What will happen if Yuri doesn't want the baby? 

Before he knows it Yuri is home with food from the restaurant up the street. He glances at the clock and realizes he has been sitting there lost in his thoughts for over two hours. 

"Are you feeling any better?" Yuri asks as he sits the food down on the kitchen counter. 

"I...Yuri we need to talk," Otabek says, trying to keep his voice even to hide his nerves.

"What's wrong?" Yuri asks, brows furrowed as he walks from the kitchen to the couch where Otabek is sitting.

"I don't know how to say it, I know we didn't plan this, just please don't be mad," Otabek says, voice breaking slightly as his nerves get the best of him.

"What didn't we plan? Beka, you're starting to freak me out. Are you okay? Did the doctor say there was something wrong?" Yuri is clearly distraught as he questions Otabek, not taking any notice of the print out or vitamins on the coffee table.

"I'm fine, I'm not sick, I'm actually really happy, I'm just worried you won't be," Otabek says, bracing for Yuri's reaction. "I'm pregnant."

Yuri's jaw drops. "That can't be right, you're a beta," he says.

"The doctor said it happens sometimes. It's rare but not completely unheard of," Otabek says as he reaches for the print out to show Yuri his positive test result.

"But you haven't had a heat," Yuri says, looking down at the paper in his hands in disbelief.

"I already want you all the time, I guess that makes it hard to tell," Otabek says sheepishly.

"Is this a joke, are you pranking me right now?" Yuri demands.

"I'm not pranking you. When have I ever pranked you?" Otabek answers. 

"So this is real? We're having a baby?" Yuri asks, the confusion on his face now mixing with acceptance as he puts the paper back down.

"We're really having a baby," Otabek says, now unable to hide his grin.

"Well…" Yuri begins, pausing for a moment as he tries to come up with something to say. "I guess this means I don't have to do it."

"Are you okay with this?" Otabek asks.

"I'm going to need a little while to get used to the idea, but I think I'm okay with it," Yuri says thoughtfully. "It's not as bad if I'm not the one who has to be pregnant."

"You're off the hook, I've got it covered," Otabek says, pulling him in for a hug.

"I really thought you were sick," Yuri says into the crook of Otabek's neck.

"I'm sorry I worried you," Otabek says.

"So what are you going to do about World's?" Yuri asks.

"I'm still going. I won't quite be far enough along to get barred from competing, but it's going to be my last competition for a while," Otabek says.

"As long as you plan on coming back after you have the baby," Yuri says.

"Of course I'll be back, I would miss skating too much to just quit," Otabek says. 

"Good," Yuri says. "You're too good to just quit. I need you on the ice so I can have some real competition."

Over the next three weeks, Otabek reworks his routine slightly, replacing a couple of the more difficult jumps with easier ones that he's sure he can nail. Despite being reassured that the baby is well protected, he doesn't want to take on any more risk of falling than he absolutely has to. 

They haven't told anyone yet. It's still early and Otabek wants to give Yuri plenty of time to get used to the idea. He swears he's okay with it, but he's clearly very nervous about the idea. Bringing up the baby is awkward, and at times it doesn't really even seem real, especially once Otabek's morning sickness begins to fade.

Otabek's first visit with an obstetrician comes just a week before his final competition of the season. Yuri tags along, the two of them making an excuse to ditch practice early. Otabek is glad to have him there. 

The first part of the appointment goes much like his visit with the general practitioner. He gives blood and urine samples then has a quick physical exam. This doctor is excited by his case having only encountered one pregnant beta man before, and that one, like most pregnant beta men, was married to an alpha. Her best guess is that Otabek's body reacted to Yuri's unwillingness to get pregnant the same way it would react to a partner's inability to get pregnant. Adapting to a partner's needs is a sign of a strong bond.

The last part of the appointment is an ultrasound to check on the baby and try to estimate a due date. He needs to be under thirteen weeks pregnant to be allowed to compete. Between the standard first trimester symptoms fading away and what he swears is a tiny bump starting to form (Yuri thinks he's imagining it) Otabek is pretty sure he's going to be cutting it close. 

He watches the screen as a blurry form appears. It's hard to tell exactly what he's looking at, but he still doesn't want to miss it.  
"Oh, that's exciting!" the doctor says, pointing to two distinct shapes on the screen. "You're having twins."

Otabek chances a glance at Yuri, who is staring at the screen with his mouth hanging open in shock. Otabek squeezes his hand before looking back at the screen, eager to see his babies as the doctor goes over their measurements and checks that everything seems healthy. 

"You're cutting it close, but you can still compete. I would estimate that you're around eleven weeks pregnant." The doctor says. "Your due date is October 13th, but twins tend to come a little early, so you're probably looking at late September."

"Are they okay?" Yuri asks, attempting to shake himself from his earlier shock.

"They're fine, they both have strong heartbeats and everything looks normal for this stage. I'll do a more thorough check in a few weeks."

Yuri nods, still looking pretty lost. He just started getting used to the idea of one baby, so finding out he needs to get ready for two must be hard.

Otabek isn't so sure what to think of having twins himself. All of his plans assumed there would be one baby. Having a second might produce some additional challenges that he hasn't thought of yet. 

The drive home is quiet, both of them lost in thought. As they walk into their apartment Yuri turns to Otabek with a look of fresh panic on his face, and grabs him by the shoulders. "Beka, there's two of them," he says.

"It's going to be okay," Otabek says, fighting back a laugh at the look on Yuri's face. He isn't sure why it strikes him as so funny, but this situation is so inherently ridiculous that it feels worth laughing over.

"Beka this is serious, we're going to have to move!" Yuri says, clearly distraught.

"Think on the bright side," Otabek says. "You might be the first omega to ever put twins in a beta. That's something to be proud of."

Yuri's chest puffs up and he has to fight back a smile. "I did do that, didn't I?" he says proudly, wrapping his arms around Otabek. Yuri's recent growth spurt means Otabek now has to look up slightly when facing his husband. It felt weird at first coming to Russia last year only to find that Yuri was suddenly taller than him, but Otabek wouldn't change it now. 

"You're just that good," Otabek says as he pulls him down into a kiss.

"Would you like me to show you again?" Yuri whispers into his ear.

Otabek shivers. "I would like that."

They make their way to the bed, clothes coming off the whole way, discarded on the floor to pick up later. 

\---‐---------‐------------------

The week of the World Championship competition comes fast. The flight to Canada is long and exhausting and Otabek's newest symptom is a near-constant urge to pee, something he has been assured will only get worse as his babies continue to grow and press down on his bladder. A twelve hour flight (not accounting for layovers) is unpleasant at the best of times and this is just miserable. After his second bathroom break in as many hours, Yuri is gracious enough to trade him seats so he can at least have the aisle seat. Knowing how much Yuri hates middle seats, it's a clear expression of love.

When they arrive all Otabek wants to do is sleep until time for the competition and Yuri is right behind him. Unfortunately Toronto is in a very different time zone than St. Petersburg and it's still very early in the evening. They really need to stay up for at least a little while if they want to be well rested for practice tomorrow or the short program the day after that.

Planes are arriving at the airport carrying skaters from all over the world, some of whom Otabek knows and many others he doesn't. The first familiar face he spots in the crowd is JJ, fresh faced and wide awake after a flight that couldn't have been any longer than a couple hours. Toronto may not quite be his home turf, but it's close enough. Otabek decides he would rather not deal with JJ right now, and grabs Yuri's hand to disappear into the crowd before the two of them can be spotted. 

As soon as they turn around they're face to face with Yuuri and Victor, who at least have the decency to look tired. They're greeted with tired hugs and invited out to dinner to help stay awake a bit longer and eat something better than airplane food.

They manage to drag dinner out for a couple hours, just talking and catching up. Victor retired for real at the end of the last season and Yuuri claims this is going to be his final season as well. Otabek doubts that. He's pretty sure the last two seasons were also Yuuri's final season. They avoid the topic of Otabek's pregnancy, having decided even before leaving Russia that they aren't telling anyone until after the competition. Otabek doesn't want anyone treating him like he's made of glass. When the subject of the next season comes up Yuri says a little bit about his own plans and then quickly changes the subject.

They take a walk around the neighborhood visiting all the little shops in the area. A small boutique baby shop catches Yuuri's eye and he attempts to pull Victor over to it. Victor shakes his head, "Remember what I said, no baby until you retire, and you aren't allowed to retire without a gold medal."

"You also said you wouldn't marry me without a gold medal, and look what happened anyway," Yuuri says, waving his hand to show off his ring.

Yuri looks confused. "Why are you waiting for him to retire, aren't you an omega?" he asks.

Victor shrugs, "Travelling."

Otabek is exhausted enough that he's inclined to agree with Victor's logic there. Yuri just looks thoughtful.

Otabek and Yuri both crash as soon as they get to their hotel room, not even bothering to change into their pajamas. "I didn't even think about the travelling," Yuri says as they curl up in bed together. 

"I probably won't be allowed to go with you once I'm huge, but I'll watch you on TV. Then after they're born we can be those parents on the plane with the cranky babies making everyone miserable," Otabek says, drawing Yuri in closer. 

A flash of horror crosses Yuri's face before he opens his mouth to suggest maybe getting a babysitter instead. 

"We'll figure it out once we get there, maybe they'll love plane rides," Otabek says hopefully.

Yuri just raises his eyebrows. "Yeah, I knew it was stupid as soon as I said it," Otabek concedes.

It doesn't take long to fall asleep. In the morning they have a practice in the rink where the competition will be taking place. There they see a lot of their fellow skaters. Dodging questions about Otabek's plans for the next season is simple enough, neither of them has ever been very social, so when they aren't particularly forthcoming, most people are inclined to just drop it. 

Their wedding is a harder discussion to dodge, but they're once again able to answer truthfully that Yuri isn't pregnant. Otabek knows why people jump to that assumption. They're young and from the outside it must look like things were rushed. A shotgun wedding is an easy explanation. He hopes once the truth comes out in a few days after the competition is over people will believe them when they say they didn't even know yet.

If he's wearing an extra-loose shirt at practice this morning, well, who would suspect a beta?

They get dragged into dinner with a few of their fellow skaters before going back to their hotel room for the night. On the morning of short program they draw to determine their places and Otabek is pleased to find that he'll be going last. If he's going to have to sit out for a season, he wants to at least leave everyone with a good impression. 

Yuri grumbles about getting a spot near the beginning, but his performance clearly doesn't seem to suffer as he comes away with a score that would be high enough to win him the gold in most competitions. As more and more skaters take their turn Yuri keeps his lead until finally Katsuki Yuuri pulls just slightly ahead. Yuri scowls for a moment, but he doesn't seem genuinely mad. Otabek is shocked to see himself in second place by less than a point at the end of the day.

As his turn approaches on the day of the free skate, Otabek heads to the locker room to change into his costume. This is the first time he's put it on in weeks and the stretchy material isn't doing anything to hide his small bump. He reaches one hand down to rest on his belly, he had hoped for this to look less obvious. He could swear his bump looks more prominent in this costume than it would if he were naked. It was far less visible in the relatively loose dark colors of his short program costume. Twelve weeks is early to be showing, but things are different with twins and really, he should've expected this.

He stares at himself in the mirror, examining his bump from all angles trying to determine if someone who doesn't already know he's pregnant will be able to tell. Yuri comes in to check on him after a few minutes and stops in the doorway, eyes nearly bugging out of his head before he rushes over to Otabek's side. 

"Beka, you're really pregnant," he says, tears gathering in his eyes as he places both hands on Otabek's belly. "I mean, I knew, but it's different really seeing it," Yuri says, not moving his hands as he takes a step closer, pressing his face into Otabek's neck to breathe in his scent. “You even smell sweeter,” he says, the sound muffled against Otabek’s neck.

“I didn’t realize it would be so obvious in this costume,” Otabek says as he wipes away Yuri’s tears. “It’s probably good that we were going to tell everyone after this anyway.”

“Don’t miss your turn, go and skate. Score well enough that nobody can question your decision to compete,” Yuri says, taking a step back to try to get himself together as Otabek walks out of the locker room to wait for his turn. He’s just in time to hear his name announced and get out onto the ice. He thinks he hears whispers as he walks past some of the other skaters, but it’s nothing he can quite make out. Logically he knows that as a beta, most people are probably just going to assume he has packed on a few pounds since the last competition. He isn’t really big enough for most people’s minds to jump straight to pregnancy, and even if they do, he’s already on the ice now, all he needs to worry about is putting on a good show. The rest will come later.

Yuri watches from the side of the rink, alone for now in a little spot near the locker room that gives him a good view. He’s so entranced with watching Otabek that he doesn’t notice Victor at first. “You don’t have to cry, you know,” Victor says, offering a tissue. “Even if his performance is perfect you'll still get bronze.”

“Don’t look at me, old man,” Yuri says, trying to sound angry but his heart isn’t in it.

“So how far along is he?” Victor asks.

“You aren’t supposed to know yet!,” Yuri says in surprise. “Does everyone know?”

“You wound me, Yuri. I’m smarter than people give me credit for, you know,” Victor says, dramatically stopping to think for a moment before answering the question. “I don’t think anyone else knows, if they do they haven’t said.”

“How obvious are we?” Yuri asks. 

“Before I saw you over here I wasn’t completely sure,” Victor admits. “I thought it was strange when Otabek didn’t order a beer with dinner like he usually does, then you both kept dancing around his plans for the next season. At first I thought he was sick, but then I saw you both trying very hard not to look at the baby store and that’s when I started to put it together.”

“Great,” Yuri says, slumping down in his seat.

“Oh, I’m not finished,” Victor says gleefully. “He also reduced the difficulty level of his routine, Georgi said he threw up at the rink, and that’s even before I noticed his belly.”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it. You’re a master of observation and we aren’t as stealthy as we thought we were,” Yuri says, rolling his eyes.

Victor looks thoughtful for a moment. "If you keep my secret, I’ll keep yours,” he says.

Yuri looks at him appraisingly before sticking out his hand. “It’s a deal.”

Victor takes his hand and shakes it, fighting back a grin. “You know, I really wanted to tell somebody, not even Yuuri knows yet because I was afraid if I told him he wouldn’t be able to concentrate on his performance.” Victor pauses there for a moment while Yuri beckons for him to continue. “I’m pregnant too. I found out the morning we left Japan.” 

Yuri looks at him in surprise, “I heard you tell Katsudon he has to wait until after he retires,” he says.

Victor laughs, “He knows I’m not going to hold him to that. I’m getting soft in my old age.”

“Otabek is 12 weeks. We’re having twins,” Yuri says.

“Oh Yuri, always trying to outdo me,” Victor laughs. “I imagine that was a pretty big surprise for you.”

“No, I always expected to knock my beta husband up with twins,” Yuri says sarcastically.

“Unless my math is off, he wasn’t your husband yet,” Victor teases.

“I was telling the truth when I said it wasn’t a shotgun wedding, we didn’t know until after,” Yuri says, irritation evident in his tone. 

“I believe you,” Victor says, holding back his laughter. “Still, what are the odds?” he asks.

“Not high, but if it means I don’t have to do it, I’m all for it,” Yuri says with a shrug.

Otabek’s routine ends, his finishing pose different than before, now with one hand resting on his belly.

Victor nudges Yuri, “If people didn’t know before, they will soon.”

Yuri watches as Otabek’s score is tallied, putting him in second place and pushing Yuri into third. Katsuki Yuuri wins the gold. Yuri runs over to Otabek as he steps out of the kiss and cry and throws his arms around his neck, greeting him with a kiss. “You were perfect out there,” he says. 

After the award ceremony, Yuri watches from the side as Otabek is pulled into an interview. Otabek hates interviews. They’re awkward and he never knows what to say, often sticking to boring one word answers just to get the interviewer to move onto someone else.

“You removed some of the more difficult jumps from your routine this time, and many are saying you would have won the gold if you left them in. Why the change?” the interviewer asks.

“I didn’t want to fall,” Otabek says with a shrug.

The interviewer looks at him, confused. “What was so different about this competition that made not falling so important to you?” he asks.

“Oh, um…” Otabek looks over to Yuri for help. Yuri just shrugs and gives him a nod. Otabek understands it for what it is, permission to answer honestly if he wants to.

Otabek just pats his belly. “Precious cargo.”

Yuri can see some of his fellow skaters whip around and suddenly start paying attention.

Otabek just stands there nervously as the interviewer continues to ask questions about his pregnancy and how that affects his plans for next season. Yuri can tell he’s getting overwhelmed so he makes up an excuse to walk in and save him from the interviewer, pulling him out into the hall where things are a little more private. 

“I think I found another bright spot in not competing next season,” Otabek says.

“What’s that?” Yuri asks.

“No interviews.”

A little further down the hall, Yuri can see Victor and Yuuri standing in a little alcove, he strains his ears to listen because he can’t help but be nosy, especially knowing what he knows from his conversation with Victor. 

“I knew you could win gold, you just needed the right motivation,” Victor says as he joyfully examines Yuuri’s medal.

“Now that I won, are you going to tell me anything?” Yuuri asks coyly.

“I’m afraid I don’t know what you mean,” Victor says.

“Really? You don’t have anything to say about what I found in the trash right before we left Japan?” Yuuri teases.

“You’ve known this whole time?” Victor says, surprise evident in his tone.

“You’re terrible at secrets, Victor. You left it right on top, of course I saw it. I’ve just been waiting for you to tell me so I could tell you how happy I am,” Yuuri says.

Yuri can’t see them very well as they step further into the alcove away from prying eyes. Otabek tugs on his sleeve. “We should give them some privacy,” he says.

They spend the rest of the evening dodging reporters and answering questions from their fellow skaters. In the morning when they wake up they’re happy to be heading home, even with the long flight ahead of them. This time Yuri lets Otabek have the aisle seat from the beginning. 

The next two months keep them busy. They find a new apartment just a little further from the rink that has a second bedroom they can use as a nursery. Baby stuff starts piling up among all their still unpacked boxes, mostly cute things they find when travelling. Otabek never would've thought this many animal print or cat themed onesies even existed, but somehow Yuri manages to find another one every time he goes out.

Otabek looks back at the pictures of himself from the world championship and laughs, if he thought he was big then, he must be huge now. He tries not to dwell too much on the fact that he's only halfway done.

Eventually the day comes for his anatomy scan. He can't wait for another peek at his babies. He can already tell they've grown so much and he has started feeling tiny fluttering kicks. They refuse to kick for Yuri, and it can be entertaining watching Yuri try not to feel offended at the actions of a couple of fetuses. Otabek hopes he'll be able to feel them soon, it feels wrong to keep them all to himself. Yuri should get to feel this joy too.

The picture on the screen is far clearer than the first time, but it's still difficult to tell exactly what they're looking at without it being pointed out. Yuri holds his hand as he stares transfixed at the screen while measurements are taken and two healthy heartbeats are played out loud. At the end of the scan the doctor asks if they want to know the sexes and they both answer yes without even thinking. It doesn't really matter, but right now they're hungry for any information they can get about their babies. 

Besides, there's a betting pool over this and Yuri has been incredibly insistent that they're both girls. There have been many occasions when Yuri has come home with a couple of tiny animal print dresses and answered Otabek's question about what he will do if they're both boys with "they won't be."

It turns out Yuri was right. Later that evening when Otabek asks him how he was so sure, he just shrugs and calls it omega's intuition. Otabek is pretty sure that only applies when the omega parent is the one who’s pregnant and even then it’s far from an exact science, but he decides to just let Yuri have this one.

Toward the end of his second trimester, Otabek is put on travel restrictions. He knew it was coming, between being a male beta and having twins, he is technically in the high risk category even though everything is going well at the moment. The first time Yuri has to leave town for a competition without him they end up spending nearly the entire time he is away video chatting. It reminds Otabek a lot of the time before he moved to Russia. He's glad this separation won't be nearly as long.

When Yuri returns they spend the entire evening and following night snuggled up together. Otabek wakes up the next morning in a half-built nest with the sweet smell of Yuri's heat lingering in the air. 

They prepared for this the best they could by purchasing a heat aid and doing some research on what to expect out of an omega in heat whose partner is pregnant. Their search results were conflicting, some saying that the omega might express jealousy or sadness, some saying there was no change from a standard heat, and others still claiming that the omega simply becomes more doting and determined to keep their partner happy and comfortable. The information is all intended for omega/omega couples, but their situation isn't exactly a common enough one for there to be any standard advice in place.

Otabek really hopes this isn't going to be a normal heat. He feels tired just thinking about it. Twenty-six weeks pregnant is not the most comfortable time to have several days of marathon sex, especially if he has to top. They've always switched, but as Otabek has gotten larger, bottoming has just been easier. 

Otabek spots Yuri coming back through the door with another arm full of blankets and sits up in the bed. "Before you bury me in here, is it okay if I get up for a minute first?" he asks. 

Yuri narrows his eyes at him for a moment and says, "fine, but I want your shirt."

Otabek just laughs and pulls his shirt over his head and tosses it at Yuri before getting up to walk to the bathroom and then into the kitchen for a glass of water.

When he returns, Yuri is smoothing his sleep shirt over his pillow and fluffing up some of the blankets. As soon as he sees him come through the door he ushers him back into the nest. Otabek had nearly forgotten how adorable Yuri gets at the beginning of his heats before the need has really had a chance to settle. He is openly affectionate and a little bit slow on the uptake. Otabek loves knowing that nobody else ever gets to see him like this.

As soon as he lays down, Yuri stuffs more pillows around him in an effort to make him comfortable and then burrows in after him, wrapping around him like an octopus. He takes a particular interest in Otabek's belly, always keeping at least one hand on it as they cuddle in the nest. 

At some point he starts to gradually move down the bed until he is resting his face against Otabek's belly along with both hands. He nuzzles against it as Otabek runs his fingers through his hair to soothe him. It’s only been a couple hours, but things seem to be going well until Otabek starts to feel a slight dampness against his skin and realizes Yuri is crying.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he asks, cupping Yuri's face gently and tilting it up to look at him.

"I want to hold them," Yuri sobs. 

"Oh Yura, you will. You just have to give them time," Otabek says. He can't decide if this is funny or heartbreaking. He's being ridiculous but he just looks so sad.

“What if they’re born and they still don’t like me,” Yuri continues to sob. Otabek can’t help but feel a little bit bad about that, it seems like every time Yuri tries to feel them move they stop. He hadn’t realized just how badly that was affecting him. He tries to think of something he can do to help Yuri feel closer to them. They recently picked names together, maybe an introduction will help him feel closer.

Otabek grabs one of Yuri’s hands and places it high on his belly. “This is Katya, she is still laying sideways just to torment me. She likes to dig her feet into my ribcage,” he says, reaching for Yuri’s other hand. “Down here is Nadya,” he says, placing Yuri’s hand low on his belly. “She has already turned her head down, so now she likes to spend her time kicking her sister.”

“I love them,” Yuri says, so quietly it almost sounds like a confession. “I’m just so afraid they’re going to hate me.”

“It’s not the same as holding them, but they know you’re there. I think having you around calms them down,” he says, laying back against the pillows to hold Yuri close as he rests one hand over each of the babies. They’re large enough now that if you know where to feel, you can easily tell which one is moving instead of just having to guess. “You’re their papa, they’re going to love you.”

They continue to lay that way until Otabek’s stomach growls, prompting Yuri to quickly jump up in shock. “We didn’t have breakfast, you must be starving” he says as he runs off toward the kitchen. He pauses in the doorway, casting a pained look over his shoulder. “You’ll be alone,” he says, face dropping at the realization. 

“I can come with you,” Otabek says, moving some of the pillows so he can get up and follow Yuri to the kitchen.

Yuri makes a pained sound. “No, just stay there, I have an idea,” he says, stepping out of sight for a moment before returning with Potya and tucking the cat into the nest. Potya seems to be okay with this, curling up against Otabek’s belly with a purr as Yuri reluctantly leaves to walk to the kitchen. Otabek laughs and pets the cat. It’s moments like this when he wishes he had his camera to show Yuri what he’s like during his heats. His behavior is often loving but completely ridiculous during the time between when his instincts start to kick in and the full onset. He’s adorable.

Otabek sits up in the bed, trying not to feel too concerned about all the crashing and banging coming from the kitchen. Even at the best of times, cooking isn’t really one of Yuri’s skills, and right now he’s more than a little bit heat-addled. He really doesn’t want to think about what the kitchen is going to look like after this is over. Everything he read while preparing for this said if his omega tries to take care of him, to just let it happen unless the omega’s idea of caretaking is actively harmful. Rejecting the assistance can make the omega feel like a bad provider and ramp up any insecure feelings they might have about not being the one to carry their children. Otabek doubts that’s the source of any of Yuri’s insecurity. If anything the fact that he isn’t the one carrying their children is something Yuri has been unbearably smug about, but he still doesn’t want to risk it if he doesn’t have to.

Omega parents of young children often have heats that are characterized more by an urge to take care of existing children than an urge to make new ones. Traditionally this has helped families space their children out. Luckily modern times have birth control, so having that hold true in their case isn't something they’re going to have to rely on, still Otabek wouldn’t be surprised if that’s how this heat is going to be.

Yuri returns a few minutes later with a plate full of fried eggs and slightly burnt toast. Otabek breathes a sigh of relief that he isn’t going to have to reject a meal and break Yuri’s heart. Otabek thanks him for the meal and begins to eat before being interrupted so Yuri can feed him instead. As with everything else today, Otabek just goes with it, indulging Yuri in his need to take care of him even when he could more easily do it himself. He knows Yuri knows he is capable. This is just a quirk of biology.

As they finish their meal and sit the plate to the side, Otabek feels a familiar thumping low in his belly. Nadya is awake, which means Katya will follow any minute now. He reaches for Yuri’s hand to put it over the spot where their daughter is moving. Yuri’s eyes widen in surprise before his face breaks into a smile and he sinks back down on the bed, once again resting his face against Otabek’s belly, only this time there are no more tears. After a moment Otabek feels the unmistakable feeling of Katya rolling over, likely annoyed by her sister’s kicks. “They’re really in there, aren’t they?” Yuri says in awe.

It isn’t really a question, of course he knew they were in there, instead this is the last vestiges of seeing the babies as a hypothetical slipping away as he feels them move, reacting to him and each other. Yuri starts speaking softly to them in russian, half-muffled and forgetting to slow down to give Otabek a chance to understand, but the bits he catches are very sweet and a little bit heartbreaking. Yuri’s parents were never around, so listening to Yuri promise to do better for his own children despite his worries that he won’t know what to do just makes Otabek want to hold him forever.

Eventually both of the babies settle down and Yuri and Otabek are able to take a short nap. When Otabek wakes up he can feel Yuri squirming beside him, flushed red and sweating, stripped down to nothing but his briefs which are soaked through with slick. He’s in full heat now, albeit somewhat subdued. If this was a normal heat he wouldn’t have let Otabek finish his nap, and he wouldn’t still be trying to resist even now.

Yuri’s heats are as exhausting as they are rewarding. Even under the best of circumstances Otabek comes out of them feeling like he’s run a marathon. They’ve always managed it without toys in the past, but that probably won’t be the case this time. Otabek might be a beta but he was also a professional athlete in his prime until recently. Now he gets a twinge in his back just walking around the neighborhood. 

He draws Yuri in closer for a kiss, enjoying how he melts into it as he begins to relax again, some of the discomfort easing with the contact. He continues his trail of kisses across Yuri’s jaw and down his neck, stopping to suck a mark just above his collarbone. He dips his fingers below the waistband of Yuri’s briefs, gathering slick as he continues to slip downward. Yuri makes a desperate sound as Otabek’s fingers brush over his hole. He doesn’t need preparation, especially not during a heat. That’s one of the perks of being an omega after all. This is just for fun.

There is nothing quite like a long drawn out fingering to keep Yuri satisfied while preserving some of his own energy for later. During the past two years he has learned a lot of tricks to help keep Yuri’s heat sated. It was a steep learning curve for both of them but they had it down to a science before Otabek’s pregnancy threw a wrench in things. Yuri took suppressants to skip his last one due to a competition, but skipping heats too often can backfire and create an even worse heat down the road so they decided to try to make this one work anyway. 

He slides his middle finger in slowly as Yuri sighs in contentment. More than anything Yuri just hates to feel empty. He brushes his finger gently over Yuri’s walls, continuing to kiss and suck on his neck near his scent gland as he explores. “Is this okay for now?” he asks, pulling back for a moment to look at Yuri’s face.

Yuri looks torn for a moment before reluctantly asking, “Can I have a little more?”

Otabek nods and leans in for another kiss before slipping his index finger in alongside his middle and seeking out Yuri’s prostate. He could do this all day. He loves how slick Yuri gets, and his little involuntary moans and the look of ecstasy he gets when Otabek hits just the right spot. 

He stays there, slowly and lazily taking Yuri apart bit by bit until he’s begging for more, hips shifting to try to take more in. When it finally seems like he can’t take any more teasing, Otabek pushes his hair to the side to kiss the back of his neck and whispers into his ear to roll over. 

“Finally,” Yuri says, rolling from his side onto his stomach and pushing up on his knees to present for his mate. Otabek kneels behind him, taking a moment to think through the logistics of their position. It’s been a couple weeks since he’s done this and his belly is growing fast. As soon as he presses in he realizes this isn’t going to work, as much as he wants it to. The angle is bad, and when he tries to switch to a more comfortable one his belly gets in the way. He takes a moment to think as Yuri groans beneath him, clearly ready for him to get on with it. He wants to get on with it himself, turned on by the sight of the man beneath him who has been so patient until now.

“Let’s try something else, turn over onto your back,” he says as he pulls out. Yuri quickly rolls over. Otabek grabs some of the pillows, “Lift up,” he says, placing the pillows under Yuri’s hips to raise him up. He pulls one of Yuri’s legs over his shoulder to help with the angle and presses in.

Yuri sighs happily as he relaxes against the sheets, a mix of pleasure and relief as Otabek begins to move. Slowly at first, trying to pace himself so this doesn’t end too soon, but speeding up as he finds his rhythm. Otabek loves making love to Yuri face to face, watching his expressions change as he looks into his eyes, if he were in any shape to bend over him right now he would be kissing him, silencing his moans before making his way to his scent gland. It would only take the slightest nibble to turn Yuri incoherent. He closes his eyes for a moment just to picture it, opening them back up at the feeling of a hand on his belly to look down at Yuri who is gazing up at him in awe even now.

As he approaches his climax he can tell that Yuri is also getting close. He uses his free hand to grapple for the heat aid as he reluctantly pulls out, slipping the heat aid in place and pressing the button on the base to inflate the artificial knot. That’s the last thing it takes to push Yuri over the edge, moaning at the stretch as he comes, coating his stomach. Otabek takes himself in hand and follows, collapsing onto the bed beside Yuri to hold him as he comes down.

“I’ve never been knotted before,” Yuri says, rolling over to face Otabek with the knotting toy still in place.

“Is it okay? It doesn’t hurt you does it?” Otabek asks.

“Yeah, it feels so good,” Yuri slurs against Otabek’s chest. 

Otabek’s brows furrow. “Do you ever wish I was an alpha?” he asks, suddenly self-conscious about the fact that this is something he’s never going to be able to give Yuri.

“No, never,” Yuri answers honestly. “Especially now,” he says, putting his hand back on Otabek’s belly to gently rub the taut skin. “Besides,” he continues, “can you imagine getting tied together every time we have sex? Who has time for that? We should keep the toy though.”

Over the next three days, Yuri’s heat comes in waves. Between the waves he dotes on Otabek, bringing him anything he needs or wants and massaging his aching back. During the waves they alternate between fingering, the heat aid, and using a bit of creativity to find new comfortable positions for sex. By the end of it, Otabek is content, but also pretty glad Yuri’s next heat isn’t due until about three months after the babies are born.

Over time they get most of their boxes unpacked and manage to put the nursery together. The walls are painted a very bright shade of purple, picked by Yuri, and after a very long evening of trying to figure out which parts go where, two cribs are assembled and put against the wall with each baby’s name on the wall above them as well as a mobile featuring little cat figures. 

One day Yuri is browsing instagram when he comes across a pregnancy photo shoot Victor did. There are at least a dozen different poses, all celebrating his baby bump. He holds his phone up to Otabek. “Hey, why don’t I have any pictures of you like this?”

“You do have pictures,” Otabek says, thinking of all the events he attended with Yuri where their picture was inevitably taken by someone before he started having to stay home, and all the candid pictures Yuri has taken of him around their apartment. There are even a few selfies he took for Yuri while he was out of town. 

“You know what I mean,” he says, handing his phone over so Otabek can scroll through the pictures from the photoshoot. They are good pictures, sickeningly good. Victor is glowing and he has somehow gotten this far without a single stretch mark. He looks relaxed and comfortable and at this moment Otabek kind of hates him for it.

“You know I’m not going to look like that, right?” Otabek says. “Victor is two months behind me, and having _one_ baby. I’m the size of a house.”

“Of course you aren’t going to look like Victor, you’re going to look better,” Yuri says, resting his hand on Otabek’s belly as he leans in for a kiss.

“You can take some pictures, but you aren’t posting any of them,” Otabek says. “Nobody needs to see this but you.”

“I guess that’s a fair compromise, but it’s going to be hard for me to not show the world how gorgeous you are,” Yuri says.

“That was a nice try, but flattery isn’t going to change my mind,” Otabek says, hoisting himself up from the couch to go sort through his closet to see what he has that he can put on. With less than two months left to go he’s long past being able to put on any of his old clothes, and his maternity clothes are mostly designed for comfort over style. 

Yuri follows him into the room while he searches for anything that might be flattering enough for these pictures to turn out decent. “If these pictures are just for me, who says you need to wear anything at all,” Yuri says, reaching his arms around him from behind and leaning in to kiss his neck.

Otabek blushes, “Oh, I didn’t think…”

“You didn’t think I would want to keep a reminder of how beautiful you are right now?” Yuri asks as he guides Otabek toward the bed.

“Something like that,” Otabek says as Yuri helps him remove his shirt and pulls out his phone camera to snap his first picture of Otabek leaning against the bed resting one hand self-consciously on his belly. Yuri continues to undress him, snapping more pictures as he climbs into bed. Posing feels ridiculous. He was never one to pose for pictures in the first place, and now that he feels like a blimp he is even less inclined to do it. 

“Come on, stop trying to hide from me,” Yuri says as Otabek tries to cover himself with a blanket. “You have to know how hot you are.”

Otabek shifts uncomfortably, looking down at his enormous belly covered in stretch marks. He still has several weeks left to go and he’s already worried it will never go back to normal. He hasn’t really felt attractive in months despite Yuri’s best efforts.

Yuri climbs into the bed with Otabek, caging him in to kiss him deeply, licking into his mouth and not pulling away until he’s breathless from it. He takes Otabek’s hand and guides it down to the tent in his pants. “I don’t lie,” he says. He turns his camera to video mode and proceeds to show Otabek just how beautiful he thinks he is.

Later that evening Otabek is still shirtless as they work on putting some finishing touches on the nursery. He still isn’t sure he is seeing what Yuri sees when he looks in the mirror, but he doesn’t feel the need to cover up at home anymore. While he's sitting in the rocking chair sorting through baby clothes that need to be put away, he can feel one of his daughters get the hiccups. He puts his hand on his belly and smiles as he invites Yuri over to feel. Yuri pulls his phone out of his pocket and snaps a picture of Otabek smiling up at him with both of their hands resting on his belly and turns the screen around for Otabek to look at it. 

“Okay, you can post that one,” Otabek says. It’s a very real look at what his body looks like right now, but his happiness is shining through and he is relaxed and comfortable with himself in a way he couldn’t have imagined even this morning. 

Fall comes and Yuri is a wreck when he has to go to Moscow to compete to qualify for the grand prix tournament only three weeks before Otabek’s due date. Twins are usually early, so they’re expected to arrive any day now. 

Everything is ready, the nursery is finished, the hospital bag is packed, they even have a freezer full of meals prepared to get them through their first couple weeks home. It takes some convincing to get Yuri to attend the competition at all. He probably wouldn’t have agreed if he was going any further away than Moscow. The fast train between Moscow and St. Petersburg takes about four hours and he is banking on the fact that labor tends to be far longer than that so if he drops everything to go home as soon as he gets the call he will probably make it on time.

Otabek turns on the TV to watch the competition, relaxing as best he can on the couch. His back has been sore all day and it’s hard to get comfortable as he watches the opening interviews. As the first skater goes out onto the ice he feels a contraction but he doesn’t think too deeply about it. He has been having occasional contractions for a couple weeks now and his doctor says that’s normal and to only worry if they start coming regularly enough that he can time them. 

A few minutes later he feels a second one, and on the third he glances at the clock to see if they are coming at regular intervals. The next few confirm it. He keeps his eyes glued to the TV, Yuri hasn’t had his turn yet and he doesn’t want to ruin his chances of qualifying by calling him now, knowing he will want to drop everything and leave immediately. Even if he can be convinced to stay he won’t be able to concentrate on his routine.

“You couldn’t wait a few hours?” he says, looking down at his belly. He doesn’t want to interrupt Yuri’s competition, but waiting for him to get home late at night doesn’t seem like a good plan either. He settles on a compromise and instead of calling Yuri he texts Georgi and tells him not to say anything yet, but to let Yuri know what’s happening as soon as he’s finished skating.

He continues watching the competition, occasionally getting up to pace around the living room. The pain isn’t that bad yet, he probably still has a while before he needs to get to the hospital so he just tries to relax and think on the bright side as Yuri skates out onto the ice. Since they first met, he has always loved watching Yuri skate and today is no exception. His performance is nearly flawless. 

As he sits and waits on his score, Otabek can see Georgi lean in to whisper something in his ear and a look of horror crosses Yuri’s face as he practically jumps the short wall separating him from the exit of the rink. It isn’t long before Yuri calls him from the train station in a panic to let him know he’s on his way. The battery is low on Yuri’s phone and he left his charging block at the rink along with everything else he had with him in his hurry to leave. Otabek encourages him to hang up and save his battery in case he has to call or text with any updates later.

“Four hours,” he says to himself, “I just need to hold on for four hours.”

He fills the bathtub with warm water and sinks in, hoping for some relief. It helps a bit so he stays in until the water gets cold. After a couple hours his contractions are getting closer together, but still not worryingly close. He changes into something comfortable and goes back to pacing around the apartment, trying to make sure everything is ready. He puts food out for Potya and puts away the clean dishes he washed earlier that evening, then he puts Yuri’s spare phone charger in the hospital bag and carries it out to the car so when they leave for the hospital he can’t forget it. He has never been so happy to live on the first floor.

He tries to relax, but it doesn’t work. He’s restless, in pain, and a little bit scared, but most of all he wants Yuri. He glances at the clock, one more hour until Yuri is due home. He can do this. He doesn’t want to go to the hospital without Yuri because he has been told that if Katya doesn’t turn he’ll need a C-section. The doctor is unwilling to attempt a breech delivery on a beta, citing the higher complication rates betas tend to have in the first place. At last check, Katya still hadn’t moved and is likely past the point where she would still have room to. He’s afraid if he goes to the hospital they will want to deliver right away instead of monitoring him while he waits for his husband.

Finally the door swings open and Yuri rushes in looking wild eyed and disheveled. “Why aren’t you at the hospital!?” he says, panicked.

“I was waiting for you, I didn’t want you to miss anything,” Otabek says, stopping for a moment to lean against the wall and wait for his latest contraction to pass. 

Yuri rushes to his side to support him as he breathes through it. “I’m here now, let’s go.” he says.

They walk out to the car, stopping once so Otabek can breathe through another contraction. They’re getting closer together again. On the ride to the hospital he has to remind Yuri to slow down as he drives quickly with one hand on the wheel and the other held out for Otabek to hold

As soon as they get to the hospital, Otabek is ushered back into a room and told to change into a gown while the doctor is called. Yuri never leaves his side, holding his hand through each contraction and trying valiantly to hide his own panic as he showers Otabek in encouragement and praise.

Eventually the doctor arrives and does a quick exam, confirming the need for a C-section. There's a chance if he attempts a natural birth, Katya would flip into a better position once Nadya is out of the way, but they would rather not risk it. 

Yuri is briefly banished from the room while the anaesthesiologist administers a spinal block. He rejoins Otabek as he is wheeled down the hall toward the operating room and they are briefly separated again as Otabek is prepared for the surgery and Yuri changes into a sterile gown with a mask and gloves and ties his hair up under a covering. “I can’t believe we’re about to meet them,” Yuri says, leaning in close to Otabek as the doctor steps into position.

“Are you ready?” Otabek asks.

“I’m as ready as I’m going to be, and I think it might be too late to say no,” Yuri says, laughing nervously.

Otabek feels some pressure. There is a curtain up blocking his view, but he thinks they’ve probably started. It’s uncomfortable but not painful. Tears come to his eyes when he hears a cry. Yuri peeks around the curtain and nearly hits the floor, catching himself just in time. Looking was a mistake. 

He still looks nauseous as Nadya is placed on Otabek’s chest, still angry at her eviction and momentary separation from her sister, but calming down at the familiar sound of his heartbeat. Within minutes Katya has joined her. They’re hard to get a good look at while he is laying flat on his back, but he can tell they have his dark hair and they’re smaller than he imagined they would be. They felt so much bigger before they were born.

Yuri can’t stop rambling about how beautiful and perfect they are and how he hopes he never gets them mixed up because they look way too much alike. Once Otabek is closed, the babies are put into incubators and taken to the nursery for an examination. They were only three weeks early and both clearly have strong lungs, so it’s just a precaution. Otabek can’t get out of bed, so he tells Yuri to follow them.

After he is wheeled back to his room he fights to stay awake. It’s the middle of the night and he’s exhausted. He had hoped the adrenaline rush from the surgery and meeting his babies for the first time would keep him awake, but he drifts off to sleep anyway. 

He wakes up to the feeling of fingers carding through his hair and blearily opens his eyes to see Yuri leaning over him, smiling softly. He looks tired too. “We’re back, I thought you might want a better look at them,” he says.

Yuri helps raise the head of the bed slowly so Otabek can sit up, then pushes one of the bassinets over next to the bed and carefully picks up the baby and places her in Otabek’s arms. “That’s Katya,” Yuri says. “They have bracelets for now, but we’re going to have to find a way to mark them when we get home. One of the nurses suggested toenail polish.”

He carefully removes the other baby from the bassinet and sits down in the chair next to the bed. They’re both perfect, Otabek could look at them forever. They’ve been cleaned up and swaddled. Katya looks up at him with big blue eyes that remind him so much of Yuri already. He's willing to bet they'll turn green. Yuri assures him that Nadya’s are the same. It’s hard to tell with newborns, but they seem to be identical.

Each one weighs about 6 and a half pounds, which seems far too small to have made him as big as he was toward the end until Yuri reminds him that together that’s thirteen pounds of baby. 

After a while a nurse comes in to help with their first feeding and then take them back to the nursery so Otabek can sleep, promising to bring them back again as soon as they’re hungry. He hates to see them go. 

“How are you feeling?” Yuri asks after she leaves.

“Sore, but mostly just happy,” Otabek says as he lays back in the bed. “I already miss them.”

“They’ll be back before you know it, sleep while you can,” Yuri says, pulling the reclining chair up next to the bed so he can sleep too. 

The pregnancy was hard, despite going more smoothly than anyone would have imagined, but Otabek can’t think of anything more rewarding than meeting his girls. Getting back in shape for the next season with twin newborns is a daunting task, but the last thought Otabek has before he drifts off to sleep is “It was worth it.”


End file.
